Best of China

Best of China
See Beijing’s Imperial palaces, walk the vast Great Wall of China, tour the Temple of Heaven, visit Xi’an, one of China’s oldest cities, to see the Terra Cotta soldiers, explore Reed Flute Caves in Guilin and stroll through old Colonial Shanghai.
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Day 1 Overnight Flight to China
Day 2 Ni hao Beijing
Details: Meet your tour director and check into hotel
Your 24-hour Tour Director will meet you at the airport and remain with your group until your final airport departure. You’ll also have a private coach and driver while touring .
Day 3 Beijing landmarks
Local teahouse visit
Optional  Kung Fu show  $45
Details: Beijing guided sightseeing tour
Explore the landmark sights of ancient and modern China with a licensed local guide. Covering the area of 90 football fields, Tiananmen Square can hold over 300,000 people and has always been the site for public proclamations and demonstrations. It has been China’s historic heart of celebration and also turbulence for almost a century. The gate at the southern end of the square marks the old city walls, not removed until 1958. See the nerve center of modern China in the adjoining People's Hall, the legislative building, where each of the 32 reception rooms is lavishly decorated in the style of a different province or city. In the main hall, 500 light bulbs illuminate the enormous red star on the ceiling. Move into ancient China in the Forbidden City, the formidable 9,000-room palace complex -- protected by a 170ft.-wide moat -- that housed China's emperors from 1421 until 1923.
Details: Tiananmen Square visit
Explore Tiananmen Square, the world's largest public square and equivalent to the size of 90 American football fields. In the centre of the square stands the Monument to the People's Heroes (Renmin Yingxiong Jinian Bei), a 38m granite obelisk erected in 1958 and engraved with scenes from famous popular Chinese uprisings.
Details: Forbidden City visit
Discover the Forbidden City, a massive complex of red-walled buildings and pavilions topped by a sea of glazed vermilion tile. Visit the Inner Court, where only the emperor, his family, his concubines, and the palace eunuchs were allowed; the Hall of Mental Cultivation, where emperors lived after Yongzheng moved out of the Qianqing Gong and the Nine Dragon Screen, an 11½ft high wall covered in glazed tile dragons frolicking above a frothing sea, built to protect the Qianlong emperor from prying eyes and malevolent spirits.
Details: Temple of Heaven visit
Visit the Temple of Heaven, an enormous park and altar directly to the south of the Forbidden City. Each winter solstice, the Ming and Qing emperors would lead a procession here to perform rites and make sacrifices designed to promote the next year’s crops and curry favor with Heaven for the general health of the empire.
Details: Peking duck dinner
A favorite dish of the emperors during the Ming Dynasty, Peking duck became available to the masses when a later dynasty collapsed and court chefs took their recipes to the streets. Indulge in spiced, crispy duck carved into strips and eaten on thin pancakes with cucumber, shallot, and plum sauce.
Day 4 Great Wall
Details: Great Wall of China visit
The Great Wall of China, one of the greatest wonders of the world, was listed as a World Heritage by UNESCO in 1987. Just like a gigantic dragon, it winds up and down across deserts, grasslands, mountains and plateaus, stretching approximately 21,196 kilometers (13,170 miles) from east to west of China. With a history of about 2,700 years, some of the Great Wall sections are now in ruins or have disappeared. However, the Great Wall of China is still one of the most appealing attractions all around the world owing to its architectural grandeur and historical significance.
Details: Ming Tombs visit
An emperor with a home as elaborate as the Imperial Palace needs an equally elaborate final resting place, and the Ming Tombs fit the bill quite nicely. Overseen by the same emperor, Yongle, who constructed the Forbidden City, the Ming Tombs are an enormous complex of pavilions, gardens, hallways, and tombs designed to provide everything an emperor, empress, or favored concubine would need in the afterlife. Check out the Avenue of Stone Animals, where a dozen pairs of carved animals, some dating back to the 1400s, and half a dozen pairs of carved officials and soldiers wait to escort their leaders to heaven.
Details: Acrobatic show
Forget Cirque de Soleil -- Beijing's Acrobatic Troupe has been performing for more than 50 years, and their combination of superb acrobatics, juggling, magic, and more has made them the world's best acrobatic ensemble.
Day 5 Beijing--Xi'an
Beijing Zoo pandas visit
Overnight train to Xi'an
Details: Summer Palace visit
Explore the fantastic Summer Palace, an expanse of elaborate Qing-style pavilions, bridges, walkways, and gardens scattered along the shores of immense Kunming Lake. We will enjoy a tour of the park, which covers roughly 716 acres, with Kunming Lake to the south and Longevity Hill to the north.
Details: Hutong tour
A hutong is a unique form of traditional Beijing living quarters with a small street or a lane between two courtyards. There are thousands of hutongs in Beijing, most of which were built in the Yuan, Ming, and Qing Dynasties.
Day 6 Xi'an landmarks
Xi'an guided sightseeing tour
Ancient City WallGreater Wild Goose Pagoda visit
Banpo Village Ruins & Museum visit
Details: Xi'an guided sightseeing tour
The modern capital of Shaanxi, Xi’an served as capital to 11 dynasties over a period of 4,000 years, including the powerful Tang Dynasty, which marked the city’s peak. With a rich history and stunning location, the Qinling Mountains to the south and the Weihe River to the north, Xi’an is one of the most popular destinations in China.
Details: Terracotta Warriors Museum visit
Uncover the history from the Qin Dynasty, with the Terracotta Army. First discovered in 1974, these 6,000 life-size terracotta warriors were formed and buried with the first emperor of China in 210–209 BCE, with the purpose of protecting him in his afterlife. This remarkable discovery is still considered one of the biggest in archeological history.
Day 7 Xi'an--Guilin
Fly to Guilin
Day 8 Li River excursion
Li River cruise
Free time in Yangshuo
Day 9 Guilin--Shanghai
Reed Flute Cave visit
Fubo Hill
Fly to Shanghai
Day 10 Shanghai landmarks
Shanghai guided sightseeing tour
Yu Yuan GardenJade Buddha Temple visitSilk factory visitBundTian Zi Fang visit
Huangpu River cruise
Details: Shanghai guided sightseeing tour
Shanghai combines European elegance with Asian flair, transforming its colonial history with a unique modern outlook. See the highlights with a local licensed guide. Surrounded by a busy bazaar, the Yu Yuan Garden offers an amazingly peaceful escape into a sixteenth-century garden with fountains, bridges, and tile dragons undulating along the walls. More peace reigns at the temple of the Jade Buddha, where two exquisitely carved Buddha statues, each carved from a single piece of jade, keep watch over a community of monks.
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Day 11 Flight home from Shanghai

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    Day 11 Start extension to Hong Kong
    Fly to Hong Kong
    Day 12 Hong Kong landmarks
    Hong Kong guided sightseeing tour
    Star Ferry ride across Victoria HarbourKowloonVictoria PeakTai Po Man Mo Temple visitRepulse BayStanley Market
    Details: Hong Kong guided sightseeing tour
    Shopping, shopping, shopping. Hong Kong's history as Britain's Asian economic centre means that the city has always buzzed with sellers and buyers. Get a taste of the action at Stanley Market, where clothing and souvenirs are offered, and Kowloon, a district jam-packed with shops, restaurants, and apartment buildings that offers an amazing view across the harbour to the islands of Hong Kong. Take a spiritual break at the Tai Po Man Mo Temple. Named after the Taoist gods of literature ("Man") and martial arts ("Mo"), the small 150-year-old temple is noted for the coils of incense that hang from the ceiling, perfuming the entire building. Find even more sanctuary, and a better view, on Victoria Peak, once the enclave of wealthy Westerners and now a refreshing break from the energetic pace of the city below.
    Day 13 End tour
    Map of Best of China Educational Tour
    Tour Includes:
    • Round-trip airfare
    • 8 overnight stays (10 with extension) in hotels with private bathrooms
    • 1 overnight stay in couchette sleeping berths
    • Breakfast daily
    • Lunch daily
    • Dinner daily
    • Full-time services of a professional tour director
    • Guided sightseeing tours and city walks as per itinerary
    • Visits to select attractions as per itinerary
    • Tour Diary™
    • Note: On arrival day only dinner is provided; on departure day, only breakfast is provided
    • Local Guide and Local Bus Driver tips; see note regarding other important tips
    • Note: Tour cost does not include airline-imposed baggage fees, or fees for any required passport or visa. Optional excursions, optional pre-paid Tour Director and multi-day bus driver tipping, among other individual and group customizations will be listed as separate line items in the total trip cost, if included.
    We are better able to assist you with a quote for your selected departure date and city over the phone. Please call 1.888.310.7120 to price this tour with your requested options.
    Please select a postal code
    4968.00 total fee
    Basic Options


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